Geiger counter add on

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cougarten

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Mar 4, 2012
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search the market for com.rdklein.radioactivity
its a geiger counter based on your camera taped off and it seems pretty legit and amazing :)
check the website too
hotray-info.de

luckily i couldn't really test it yet :)
 
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xHausx

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Jul 5, 2010
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search the market for com.rdklein.radioactivity
its a geiger counter based on your camera taped off and it seems pretty legit and amazing :)
check the website too
hotray-info.de

luckily i couldn't really test it yet :)

I was looking forward to testing this until I realized they want five bucks for it. Also judging by the reviews I would say it's either a scam or it just wouldn't work with my phone anyways, someone else with an Evo 3D put on there that it didn't pick up anything from a radium watch or a stack thorium welding rods.
 
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ranger4740

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
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Melbourne
How can the camera pick up radio active particals to make a Geiger counter? When the cmos is only designed to pick up emf (electro magnetic frequency) in the human visual spectrum? OK given that most cmos camera devices will stretch a little bit outside the normal human spectrum up to infrared but not much more than that, radio active particals are not within the visual emf of humans...

sent from my legend, currently using extream legend fuse™
 

giritrobbins

Member
Jan 19, 2012
34
2
How can the camera pick up radio active particals to make a Geiger counter? When the cmos is only designed to pick up emf (electro magnetic frequency) in the human visual spectrum? OK given that most cmos camera devices will stretch a little bit outside the normal human spectrum up to infrared but not much more than that, radio active particals are not within the visual emf of humans...

This is because that radioactive particles are much higher energy and will act on the CMOS detector. It works by figuring out what the noise pattern on your camera is then it just looks for spikes in pixels or groups of pixels and maps those are radiation. There are some fudge factors to convert from pixels and stuff to actual radiation numbers.
 
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stretched

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2011
453
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So does your camera have to be active for this to work? Or can it work passively?
 

juzz86

Retired Senior Moderator
The sensor will need to be open (active).

Keep in mind that it'll be somewhat useful to detect the presence of radiation, but absolutely useless for quantifying it. It'll also be quite insensitive.

If you're after a dose rate (quantifying) meter, you'd be better served by a serial-connected counter. If you're just mucking around though, the camera-based one may suffice :)
 

pulser_g2

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Nov 27, 2009
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It's somewhat similar to the pulse detector apps for phones... Cool to play with, and lets you say "oh my heart rate is faster after I did my run"... But while it's relatively accurate, you'd want a real monitor for any serious usage... Or take the pulse manually :p

I guess similar applies here. The dosage depends on the amount of radiation emitted, not how much manages to "light up" the Cmos above background noise...

Again, cool to point at rock which is slightly above background levels, but no something you want to rely on.
 

ranger4740

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
1,497
447
Melbourne
Oh just thought of something, the sample rate of the sensor would effect the readings wouldn't it?


sent from my legend, currently using extream legend fuse™
 

E:V:A

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Dec 6, 2011
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The "REAL RadioactivityCounter" made by scientist Rolf-Dieter Klein, is indeed a very serious competitor. The mere fact that someone has bothered to work out the details how to make a cheap mobile cam, detect ionizing radiation, deserves a PhD by it self.

The difference in using your phone with taped over cam, costing you $5 bucks, is nothing compared to buying a dedicated device in the $100+ range, that is only slightly better for certain types of short-range radiation like (alpha and low-energy beta). In addition the cam CMOS sensors doesn't saturate under high doses, like an ionization based device, and thus provides better accuracy!

The sensitivity depends on the physics of your mobile camera, where most phone cams start picking up radiation at about 10 µSv/h. For the iPad2 it picks up radiation already at the 1 µSv/h level.


device-2011-11-20-170904-ok.png



So unless you are making high-precision, low-energy or background radiation measurements (like looking for Radon in houses), this app is worth every penny. In addition it is one of the best supported apps out there, with a solid scientific base.

Links:

Hack-A-Day - presentation and review
Developer Web Site
Forum

I especially like the radioactive Bavarian mushrooms YouTube video!
 
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bamx2

Senior Member
Apr 17, 2010
120
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Would this be sensitive enough to detect leakage outside of x-ray rooms ? Yes, I realize that is is not a substitute for the devices used by licensed radiation safety expert.
 

E:V:A

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Dec 6, 2011
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Would this be sensitive enough to detect leakage outside of x-ray rooms ? Yes, I realize that is is not a substitute for the devices used by licensed radiation safety expert.

Probably not, since "leakage" measurements involve low level (and possibly also low energy) detection, under a long time.
 

xHausx

Inactive Recognized Developer
Jul 5, 2010
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It appears the Evo 3D is on their site of devices it works with, so maybe that was just a garbage review after all? It would be nice if there was a trial version for it, I have some Cd-109 and Sr-90 sources I'd like to test it with.

You would think the optics would block nearly all of it, but they say some cameras can still pick up beta particles (Sr-90 specifically). If so this may be useful in finding pitchblende.
 

E:V:A

Inactive Recognized Developer
Dec 6, 2011
1,447
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It appears the Evo 3D is on their site of devices it works with, so maybe that was just a garbage review after all? It would be nice if there was a trial version for it, I have some Cd-109 and Sr-90 sources I'd like to test it with.

You would think the optics would block nearly all of it, but they say some cameras can still pick up beta particles (Sr-90 specifically). If so this may be useful in finding pitchblende.

Again it depend on the construction and location of the camera module. This is also the reason why they prefer to use the front facing camera for this. It simply contains less lenses and simpler electronics, that can complicate proper measurements. According to the developer, measuring pitchblende is working really well!
 

wayzata

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2012
107
23
It's somewhat similar to the pulse detector apps for phones... Cool to play with, and lets you say "oh my heart rate is faster after I did my run"... But while it's relatively accurate, you'd want a real monitor for any serious usage... Or take the pulse manually :p

I guess similar applies here. The dosage depends on the amount of radiation emitted, not how much manages to "light up" the Cmos above background noise...

Again, cool to point at rock which is slightly above background levels, but no something you want to rely on.

Not necessarily... any good heart rate monitoring app works completely perfectly. Maybe you have a bad camera/flash position or the app can't count. It's exactly the same as a pulse ox that they use in hospitals, no reason it'd be any less accurate. If you don't believe me go break into an ER and measure with both :p
 

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  • 1
    search the market for com.rdklein.radioactivity
    its a geiger counter based on your camera taped off and it seems pretty legit and amazing :)
    check the website too
    hotray-info.de

    luckily i couldn't really test it yet :)
    1
    How can the camera pick up radio active particals to make a Geiger counter? When the cmos is only designed to pick up emf (electro magnetic frequency) in the human visual spectrum? OK given that most cmos camera devices will stretch a little bit outside the normal human spectrum up to infrared but not much more than that, radio active particals are not within the visual emf of humans...

    This is because that radioactive particles are much higher energy and will act on the CMOS detector. It works by figuring out what the noise pattern on your camera is then it just looks for spikes in pixels or groups of pixels and maps those are radiation. There are some fudge factors to convert from pixels and stuff to actual radiation numbers.
    1
    The "REAL RadioactivityCounter" made by scientist Rolf-Dieter Klein, is indeed a very serious competitor. The mere fact that someone has bothered to work out the details how to make a cheap mobile cam, detect ionizing radiation, deserves a PhD by it self.

    The difference in using your phone with taped over cam, costing you $5 bucks, is nothing compared to buying a dedicated device in the $100+ range, that is only slightly better for certain types of short-range radiation like (alpha and low-energy beta). In addition the cam CMOS sensors doesn't saturate under high doses, like an ionization based device, and thus provides better accuracy!

    The sensitivity depends on the physics of your mobile camera, where most phone cams start picking up radiation at about 10 µSv/h. For the iPad2 it picks up radiation already at the 1 µSv/h level.


    device-2011-11-20-170904-ok.png



    So unless you are making high-precision, low-energy or background radiation measurements (like looking for Radon in houses), this app is worth every penny. In addition it is one of the best supported apps out there, with a solid scientific base.

    Links:

    Hack-A-Day - presentation and review
    Developer Web Site
    Forum

    I especially like the radioactive Bavarian mushrooms YouTube video!